<a href="https://katherinehilden.wordpress.com/" title="Caricatures Chicago and Beyond">Caricatures Chicago and Beyond

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Something About a Tent

Posted in Best work, Caricature, Employee party, Picnic, Technique, Therapy, tagged tent on May 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

I’ve done hundreds of summer parties & picnics. Sometimes I’m out in the open wearing a straw hat to keep cool or I’ve clamped an umbrella to my chair to keep the drawing paper from blinding me in direct sun. Sometimes a big oak tree will provide shade. But the best is being set up in a tent. There is something about a tent that elevates the mood of the whole gathering. You might think it creates a ceremonial atmosphere, but just the opposite, it loosens everybody up.

This was an international pharmaceutical company. I have no idea what they specialize in or even where their headquarters are. We were out, way North, in some clearing in a forest preserve. The tent was expansive, but not so huge as to feel “corporate.”

I loved the feeling in this event. You can tell by the drawings. I experimented with poses and ways of letting the hair fall over one eye, for example. You’ll find my favorite drawings in the larger format at the end of the gallery below. ——————

Thank you, Shanna. You really got the humor in what I do.

katherinehilden.com

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Victory Center in Melrose Park, Illinois

Posted in Employee party, Family party, Friends, Retirement, Therapy, tagged Melrose Park, Victory Center on April 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »

This is the end-of-summer picnic at a retirement community in Melrose Park, a SW suburb of Chicago. I’ve done this event for years and have drawn some people several times, like T-Bone and Ron. Repeat performances don’t get boring, not at all. It’s great to be able to greet people by name and to be recognized with a smile. The jazz ensemble is always excellent. I love drawing the great age differences from really little to very advanced in years. And of course, the stylish pre-teens!——–

Thank you, Brenda.————————————————

katherinehilden.com

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Laughter therapy for medical types

Posted in celebration, Employee party, Friends, Retirement, Therapy, tagged Brownsburg, Dawson's, retirement, surgeon on April 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

And now up to Dawson’s in Brownsburg for the retirement party of a General Surgeon & Chief Medical Officer at a teaching hospital nearby. Medical types work very hard at, you know, life-and-death matters. They need to laugh out loud every now and then. So, naturally, to make that happen the son found me.

The guest of honor’s alma mater was Butler and he’s still a devoted basketball fan. You can find him in the gallery below, dribbling crosscourt.

But I’m leading with some lab people, who came out funniest of the whole bunch, don’t you think?

Thank you, Michael.

katherinehilden.com

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Corporate Picnic in Fernbank Park, Cincinnati

Posted in Employee party, Family party, Picnic, Technique, tagged Cincinnati, environmentalists, Fernbank Park, geologigsts on April 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Getting adults to crack up is wonderful, but to see kids lose it when they see the drawing is out of this world. Look at those faces! This is the moment I work for.

The parents were geologists and environmentalists. I love drawing smart people who have an unshakable sense of humor. Look how relaxed everybody is! They just let me do my thing and, you know, that’s the really the only way to pose for a caricaturist. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, hahaha.

This was a company picnic last September, my first gig in Cincinnati after moving to Indiana from Chicago. Fernbank Park is on the Ohio and it’s glorious. I’m staying.

Thank you, Chris.

katherinehilden.com

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Hat Party

Posted in Best work, celebration, Employee party, Friends, tagged hat party, medical/pharmaceutical types on February 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

And now we’re in one of the NW suburbs. A MacMansion, to be specific, very posh. The host, head of an international medical team, throws this party about once a year and I’m lucky to be invited back again. This year everybody was told to come wearing a hat. I drew medical/pharmaceutical types from Morocco, France, Greece, England, Germany, Croatia, Brazil, Ireland, China, Nigeria, Iran, Egypt and from all over the US. Pretty interesting, wouldn’t you say? I enjoyed this party immensely.

katherinehilden.com

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Victory Center in Melrose Park

Posted in Best work, Employee party, Friends, Picnic, Retirement, Technique, tagged Carlton Moore, Melrose Park, Soul Entertainers Band, T-Bone, Victory Center on September 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

At large summer festivities there’s often a face painter. Face painters have become very skillful and imaginative. Though I encourage people to get there caricature first before they go over to the face painting table, they often forget or ignore that and then come to my stand with a painted face that looks like a mask. In that case, as followers of these posts know by now, I draw them in profile. That way I can at least approximate a likeness.

But when I saw this woman I broke the rule. She’s obviously an older woman, a resident at the retirement home actually, and her demeanor was gentle and dignified. But her cat face was so funny and endearing, that I decided to go for it. I simply drew a cat with her face. She loved it and said she would send it to her kids.

I did a family day at this retirement home about three years ago and this year I recognized some of those faces. That’s always fun. One of the residents is Mr. T-Bone, who always wears his black baseball cap with that name on it. He remembered me, too.

The Soul Entertainers Band, led by Carlton Moore, was excellent: (219) 688-1117.

Christmas Party at the Melrose Park Victory Center

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LabelExpo 2016

Posted in Employee party, From Photos, gift, Promotion, Technique, tagged Flint, framing, labels, Rosemont Convention Center on September 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Just labels, you say? Oh, no. Labels are a huge industry. Who knew.

I worked for an international Swedish company at the Rosemont convention center last week. The whole place was swarming with experts on printing machines, color nuances, adhesives and whatnot related to big and small labels. I drew dozens of people from dozens of countries, but only took a few pictures of my work. Because it was a business atmosphere, you understand.

Notice that the lower left corner holds a sticker—a label, ta-tah–identifying my client, because that’s the real message we’re trying to get across here. Notice, also, that I drew right over the label, not much but just enough to make sure it stays on there when people frame the drawing for their office. BTW, labels are much more economical than pre-printing the paper and they can hold a lot of information–and in color.

People liked the drawings so much that they occasionally showed me photos of kids or girlfriends on their phones. Sure, I can do that, too. In that case, I drew on paper that I hadn’t stuck the sticker on. Everybody went home happy.

Thank you, Cornelia!

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Staff Party at Lincolnwood Place

Posted in Employee party, Picnic, Therapy, tagged assisted living, Lincolnwood Place, retirement, staff party on September 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ajun is a physical therapist with a kind, gentle manner that comes through in the first few minutes of anyone talking with him. My job is to draw him funny. How can I do that? Saying something that is obviously the opposite of what you mean is one way to be funny. So I drew Ajun as assertive and tough, as in “you talkin’ to me!?”

He cracked up. Everyone got the joke.

Lincolnwood Place is a retirement/assistant living community. This was an afternoon party for the staff. I’ve done many staff parties in retirement and nursing homes and I’m always amazed at how energetic and cheerful these people are. I can’t imagine that work being easy. They certainly deserved this afternoon of food, games, music and, ta-tah, my drawings.

Thank you, Lori!

As you can see, some people got into it and let their hair down.

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This gig came through GigMasters, who encourage clients to give feedback and an evaluation of the artist after the event. Here’s what the Director of Human Resources wrote:

Katherine Hilden was without a doubt 10 STARS!!! She was the highlight of our employee picnic. She was hired as the character artist & the employees loved her. She is great at what she does, very respectful & talented. Very reasonably priced. We want to hire her for every single employee picnic in the future. Its Monday morning & the staff is still talking about how great Katherine was.

Thanks again, Lori! I loved this party.

Company Picnic in Lincoln Park

Posted in celebration, Employee party, Picnic, Technique, tagged Armitage, Clark Street, Grayslake, Lincoln Park, Riverside Plaza, space/time, the big bang on July 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The people who work at this Riverside Plaza computer company took the Metra in from the distant suburbs, like Grayslake. And then to Lincoln Park for the company picnic last Saturday. Worth it! We had a breezy mid-summer day and we did our partying just off Clark Street near Armitage. As I was setting up I noticed a marker that said the lake came up to this point 8,000 years ago. This started an interesting conversation with a couple of fifth graders about the beginning of time and space and, like, ahhh, like, the big bang?

I love drawing computer geeks and their kids. They have no idea what I’m doing but they love the work, every time.

Thank you, Stephanie, for arranging such perfect weather in space/time.

P.S. I was so in tune with this crowd—apparently—that I caught this ten-year-old’s hammed up frown before his parents told me that he loves making this face. After he saw the drawing his freckled face really got into the frowning act. Very funny!